


You Draw Me In

by serafina19



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-17 15:43:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4672178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite Jake’s prior admissions, it wasn’t easy for Amy to determine how she felt about him. After their undercover experience, Amy takes some alone time to figure that out. Takes place during “Johnny and Dora.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Draw Me In

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by “Chasing Metaphors” by Lauren Busheikin (http://laurenbusheikin.bandcamp.com/track/chasing-metaphors).

 

This was her thing, solving problems through making lists, writing a long speech when necessary. So why was Amy still staring at the single written line on the otherwise blank sheet in front of her? More importantly, why was Jake the one who could be rational and say actual words when it came to this?

 _Maybe you’re a little distracted by the events of earlier tonight_ , she thought before shaking her head. So she had kissed Jake. Twice. In the same night. Well, technically, he kissed her first.

She rolled her eyes. That didn’t matter. What did matter was that they had talked about it and ensured that everything was okay before leaving work. They agreed what had happened was necessary to keep their covers intact in order to catch a prolific identify thief. Nothing had changed between them, nor did they want anything to change.

Amy scoffed. That sentiment might have been enough if she hadn’t gone to that Polish place after leaving work. For once she got home and opened up her food containers, all she could think of was how Jake knew this was often what she ate after closing a big case. After that, it wasn't long before her perogies and potato pancakes went in her fridge. Dinner ended up being Chinese, but only after she had quieted her sudden craving for pizza while looking through her take-out menus. One of these days, she really had to learn how to cook.

The rest of her evening wasn’t enough of a significant distraction either. Initially, she had hoped a shower would help, but that had failed miserably once Amy started moving her soap down her body. She had stopped on her back, reminded of the way he had placed his hands there and pulled her close at the restaurant.

That couldn’t have been a normal undercover kiss right? He could have pulled back a few seconds earlier, he didn’t have to hold her as firm as he did. But it did make it more convincing, even to her. That was about the only reason she could explain why she had let her big mouth ensure that Rosa and Charles found out.

Then again, Jake didn’t have to tell them what happened. All she had done was use her awkwardly loud voice. Out of everyone, Jake was by far the most creative when it came to excuses, so it surprised her when he easily disclosed the truth. But it wasn't like she had any genius ideas in the van, or in the park for that matter. Instead, for the latter, she levelled the playing field by kissing him first.

Her head was still buzzing after the shower, so she determined that a good night’s sleep was the solution she was looking for. Sleep never came to her though, as ten minutes after she had turned out her light, Amy found herself pacing back and forth in her bedroom.

So it had felt good. So she had been curious about what it felt like to kiss him. That didn’t mean that her feelings for Jake had come back. She had a rule, she didn’t date cops.

But then why was she acting so weird around him? Why couldn't she politely tell him no whenever he informed her of his feelings?

Those questions had helped Amy realize the real question.

_Do I like Jake Peralta?_

That was the question on the top of the paper on her coffee table, her mug almost empty next to it. Technically, she knew the answer, because if she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t be here. But they were also friends, colleagues, partners. That counted for something.

After a sigh, Amy picked up her pen. Tapping it against the page, she finally wrote: _He makes me laugh_.

It wasn’t original, she had said it earlier tonight. However, what had followed in that conversation almost caught her off-guard.

_“There's really no one else's opinion I care about more than hers.”_

Was it a line to sell the cover, or did he really mean that about her? Because it felt genuine, she could think of scenarios when that felt right. Eventually, her mind moved back to tonight, to the source, or rather sources, of her confusion. Both times, he didn’t seem to mind kissing her. Neither did she, leading to her second point.

 _Not a bad kisser_.

She wouldn’t tell him that. His ego didn’t need the boost. But she couldn’t deny it, as the memory of kissing him was keeping her awake. Looking at her clock, Amy knew that she had five hours before her alarm, but she wanted to figure this out. Deep down, she had a feeling that listing his pros and cons wouldn't give her the words she needed, but she couldn’t think of another approach.

It wasn't like Jake was the definition of what she normally looked for in a guy. He was immature, terrible with money and there were days when she wondered how he had only been fired to get a career-making undercover case. However, the funny thing about his tactics was that they often worked and they were weirdly endearing. Jake’s overall demeanour also helped people relax, making them easier to read.

Just some of the many reasons Amy found herself envying her partner, especially considering she wasn’t immune to his skills. Jake knew all of the right buttons to push to make her smile, laugh, or punch his arm. If she didn’t know better, she was pretty sure he enjoyed the latter more than he should.

Yet despite his popularity at the precinct, Jake still claimed that he preferred to work alone. It probably stemmed from his father leaving and when it came to his personal life, it made sense. Jake didn’t seem to have many friends outside of the 9-9 and she knew his relationship history was rocky at best. Work was different though, as even Jake had acknowledged that they were a family. Plus, he had a unique dynamic with everyone in the precinct. Including her.

_"But it sucks a little less when I get to do it with you."_

At the time, she figured that line was a professional courtesy, a hail mary to prove that he supported her, even if she did take the Major Crimes position. But as she started tapping her pen again, she thought maybe that was his first sign of showing that he liked her.  Past tense was key here, as she couldn’t be sure of his feelings now. Even if he had intended to ask her out a few weeks ago, he never did. And he totally totally got it now... whatever that meant.

Okay, so he has feelings for her. Jake's stumble into terrible accents as he told her why he didn’t want her on the case this morning was enough to answer that concern. But even as she sat alone in her apartment, Amy struggled to figure out how she really felt about him. She liked him, she respected him, but there was little room for error in any romantic relationship between them because they couldn’t be just a fling or short-term. That meant Amy had to be sure about this.

So what did she know? They worked together, he liked her, despite all of her bad and weird habits. Amy clearly had feelings for him too and she wasn't opposed to the idea of being the girl in his car anymore. So why couldn’t she tell him that?

Shaking her head, Amy dropped the pen. This just wasn't her area. This was one of the reasons why she was perpetually single. It didn't help that she never had a relationship with someone she was friends with first.

Leaning back on her couch, Amy felt her frustration rise because she was supposed to walk into the precinct with a plan, but this wasn’t working and she couldn’t stifle her yawns forever. More importantly, she knew that even with a plan, coming to work tired would likely make things worse.

It was also possible that she would have felt better about this if it hadn't happened before. The night Jake went undercover, Amy had made a list that was just as blank as this one. Only that time, Teddy had found it, forcing her to admit what Jake had told her to her then-boyfriend. That night was their worst argument before their break-up.

After shaking her head, Amy leaned forward again as she started to understand why this wasn’t working. Her mentor toast to Captain Holt was successful because he had read it on his own time and that took the emotion out of things. Jake was pretty much the emotional opposite of the Captain, so crafting and reading scripted points wasn't going to help the situation. In fact, Jake would probably interrupt her mid-speech and tell her that things were okay. That would be fine if her answer was _no_ , but as she crumpled the paper in her hand, she realized that wasn't the case.

Because no matter how much she had tried to bury everything, it wasn't working. Tonight alone was proof. Before, she had tried to put up barriers, but he would say something that would either take them down entirely, or cause her consider breaking her rules.  It wasn't his intention, as he respected her rules because they mattered to her. That almost made her like him more, knowing how much he respected her on a personal level.

Yet it didn't surprise Amy that she now found herself wanting to break a few of her rules for him. One of the unique things about their partnership was the way they walked the line of going by the book and off-script, and how easy they found instances when they inspired each other to switch roles. All this time, Amy never considered the reason they worked seamlessly as a team was because they were so compatible personally. But that was why this approach wouldn't work, because while writing stuff down was part of her comfort zone, or as Jake put it, _Santiago-style_ , it was a tactic she only used personally when she needed to break up with someone.

This time, the subject matter was different, so maybe it was about time she started treating it that way. Besides, considering everything that had happened, there was a chance she wouldn't need those words right away because Jake might give her space for a few days. Even if she was wrong, the worst thing that could happen was that she would give him her honest opinion, which sounded okay to her. And if it came out messy, so be it. Honestly, Jake would probably prefer it that way and it would be a better story if they worked out.

With that, Amy clicked her pen and dropped it and the paper on her table. After a few seconds of silence, Amy smiled and went back to her bedroom, feeling more prepared to face whatever tomorrow would throw at her.

 

**~End~**

**Author's Note:**

> I may do a follow up to this. Stay tuned.


End file.
